


Seven Deadly Sins

by Tsumichama



Category: K (Anime)
Genre: "envy" idk might count as fluff, "gluttony" is more crackish than anything, "greed" is crack and fluff maybe, "lust" is lust, "pride" is about Kings being stupid probably, "sloth" is solidarity between Kings or maybe not, "wrath" is angsty, M/M, apologetic author
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-10
Updated: 2014-03-14
Packaged: 2018-01-11 21:23:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1178080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tsumichama/pseuds/Tsumichama
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of seven oneshots, each on the theme of one of the deadly sins. MikoRei. Boys Love. Explicit chapter is "Lust".</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Wrath

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into 中文 available: [七宗罪](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2229966) by [gottahaveu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gottahaveu/pseuds/gottahaveu)



> Hi, guys! So this is my very first attempt at writing. It will be a series of seven oneshots each on the theme of one deadly sin. They will be published in no particular order and I really can't promise a fixed frequency of updates. School is a bitch. Also, please forgive my bad english, I'm still trying to improve. I've planned on posting the first oneshot on Valentine's Day, but now I don't think it would be fair to post something about Wrath on such a fluffy day, would it?  
> Feedback is vastly appreciated.

 

 

 

WRATH

_Its most violent form isn't always the one that hurts the most._

Many see Munakata as an exceedingly calm person. In battle, he never loses his cool even on most desperate occasions. No matter the difficulty at hand, or the atrocities he'd witness, he'd always manage to find the most efficient solution for it. It is no different during meetings, be it with the Gold King or any other high-grade officer. He'd take any underlying insult thrown by these useless ministers. Always keeping his composure, not letting the slightest bit of his state of mind transpire, well-hidden behind his glasses. When he hears his subordinates call him weird or twisted when they think he cannot hear, or when he feels during the games he organizes that they want nothing more than to fly away, his ingénue smile remains and he acts like he doesn't see anything amiss.

When most people, including his long time coworkers think of Munakata as this emotionless man, the ever-so-untrusting, yet clever third-in-command of Scepter 4, Fushimi Saruhiko suspects that somewhere, the fact that his captain still keeps on arranging (rather  _'imposing'_ ) these little parties, when knowing fully well they aren't much appreciated by his men, is Munakata's way of taking his little revenge for the "ingratitude" – or so he sees the obvious lack of enthusiasm. He'll never admit as much though. He'll always claim he does it because it is fun –and, well, Fushimi thinks he wouldn't even lie. It really  _is_  fun. For  _Munakata,_  that is _._ The Blue King will also say that it reinforces their bond. In a sense it does, because admittedly, in Scepter 4, there are at least two feelings that  _all_  the members –including the asocial third-in-command, seem to be sharing: the fear of their Lieutenant's bean paste,  _and_  of their Captain's attempts at socializing.

In a way, to Fushimi's eyes, who's served under two Kings, this is one of the many differences he's constated between them. You can hardly tell when Munakata's angry because he keeps an unshakeable façade. On the other hand, the Red King always seems angry (when he does not look bored). As a result, the two of them are surrounded by an intimidating atmosphere that scares most of their entourage. Still, Fushimi trusts his current King more, because he knows that Suoh is far more volatile, thus more dangerous, than Munakata. In fact, nobody really thinks the latter would ever snap. He has too much self-control to ever do so.

Despite this well-established reputation, Suoh knows better than to believe that it is Munakata's true personality. This stoic demeanor is Munakata's professional side. Suoh knows that outside of work, or rather, when he is with Suoh at least, Munakata is a true tyrant.

Today, he comes over at Munakata's office. Of course, he isn't expected, and it's already enough to exasperate Munakata.

"Suoh Mikoto, I hope you have a good reason for coming and disturb me when your band of hoodlums is already giving me enough trouble."

Suoh smirks and says in the most arrogant tone. "Shouldn't you be happy that I came all the way here to see your lonely ass, Munakata ?"

 _Such an annoying, vulgar man._ Munakata closes his eyes and rubs his temples to attempt chasing the headache that's starting to form.

"Nobody's asked you to come. If you want to see me, why don't you make your visits useful and come when you are  _actually_  needed instead of sending your second in command to do  _your_ work?"

"Nah, it's too bothersome. Anyway Izumo's the most qualified for these kind of things."

It's Munakata's turn to smirk. "Well, I'll concede this."

Suoh looks surprised that Munakata's agreeing with him on something. But then Munakata adds, the smirk still on his face, "After all, I don't think there's _anything_ you're actually qualified at doing."

"Always so smooth in your ways of picking a fight, aren't you, Munakata Reisi ?"

Munakata's expression turns smug, "I'm not trying to pick a fight,  _Suoh Mikoto_. I'm simply stating the truth. Now, Suoh, you've wasted enough of my time so leave. I believe you don't need me to see you out."

Of course, there's no way Suoh's going to just head out, especially not after Munakata's riled him up like this. Munakata's no fool, so he isn't really surprised when he hears Suoh's answer, "I'm going nowhere."

"Now _who's_ picking a fight?"

"You're the one who's got no sense of hospitality. Just let me stay for a while."

Without waiting for an approval, he goes to lay on the tatami on the left of Munakata's desk, very much ready to nap there.

Munakata, who hasn't moved from his desk until now, stands. He grabs his sword and walks toward Suoh. When he's next to him, his hand holds the handle of his sword, like he's ready to fight any time. He says, menacingly, "Leave."

Suoh, who's already closed his eyes, peers one open and says insolently, "What if I don't?"

Munakata frowns and points his sheathed sword at Suoh. "I'll make you comply by force".

Suoh ignores the threat and pulls at the sword directed at him instead, with enough force to make Munakata lose his balance and stumble on top of him.

This takes Munakata off-guard and while he is over Suoh, he lingers too much on staring at Suoh's chest, forgetting he'd been pissed just seconds ago. He's taken out of his contemplation when he hears Suoh laugh. Munakata lifts his eyes to look at Suoh, who says smugly, "You're not doing very well on your threat, are you?"

That makes Munakata's anger return. As he braces his hands to stand, pick up his sword with the (not so) firm intention of stabbing the insufferable barbarian beneath him in his damn attractive chest, though, said insolent grabs him by the collar and pulls him so that they are face-to-face.

Suoh then says in a deep voice, "It's been a while since we've done it." To make his point, he lifts his leg and rubs it between Munakata's, making him jolt.

Right now, Munakata's having an internal debate on whether to take up on the oh-so-tempting offer or stick to his initial plan to rip that smile off of his obscene face with his sword.

It's Fushimi's entrance that spares him from choosing. The teen looks rather worried by the sight of the two Kings on the floor. He still manages to say, "Captain, please don't fight here. You're going to destroy the whole facility. I doubt that saying the Red King has broken an entering will be an acceptable reason for the damages caused."

Suoh makes an annoyed sound a lets go of Munakata's shirt, and they both stand. Munakata, still a little flushed, fixes his glasses and says, "I'm aware, Fushimi-kun. I wouldn't put our headquarter in danger for this barbarian there." Suoh huffs. Munakata adds after a brief pause, "So, Fushimi-kun, what is your business here?"

"I came to deliver a report." Somehow feeling the need to justify himself, "I knocked but there was no answer so I just opened the door."

"I see. Sorry, I must have been busy trying to make _Mister_ leave and probably didn't hear you. Thank you for the hard work, Fushimi-kun. You can leave your report on my desk and go."

He does so without being told twice, eager to leave the heavy atmosphere of this room.

When he is out, there is an awkward silence between the two Kings, neither facing the direction of the other. Munakata is the one to speak first, "So, Suoh, will you ever tell me the real purpose of your coming here?"

Suoh shrugs, "It's too noisy in HOMRA right now. They're preparing Anna's birthday."

"And is there no other place you could have gone to if you just wanted to avoid the noise?"

"Well, I thought I could kill two birds with one stone and come to see you." The suggestive look in his eyes is clearly a renewal of his earlier invitation before Fushimi interrupted them.

Munakata sighs, "Because of you, I'm late on today's schedule, and I still have to check Fushimi-kun's report. You'll have to wait until I'm done."

"Yes, Sir," Suoh says with a grin, a little surprised that Munakata's relented so easily and hasn't kicked him out of his office.

Suoh settles back on the tatami to finally take his nap and Munakata comes back to his desk, resuming his work. Neither say anything more for the rest of the day, but the silence isn't uncomfortable. Suoh, who is used to having nightmares feels somewhat at peace when Munakata's around, conscious that he is there to stop him from destroying everything. Munakata too doesn't have to worry about Suoh being in some place, abusing of his powers.

Despite being able to work without interruption, there's still a huge pile of papers on Munakata's desk and even though he is somewhat conscious that he wouldn't have been able to finish everything even if Suoh hadn't come, he still wants to blame him, and make him pay. So he starts thinking of ways to make Suoh regret this, but to his dismay, all the scenarios involve the both of them _naked_ in bed. He tries to stop fantasizing about such things and get today's work done but finds himself unable to. This of course only adds to his frustration. Realizing that with this state of mind, he won't be able to do any more work for today, he decides to wake Suoh and drags him out of Scepter 4's building to the nearest hotel room and put on practice all of those things he'd been thinking of earlier.

* * *

Very soon after their latest meeting, Munakata hears about Totsuka Tatara's death. The rumors say he's been killed by the new Colorless King. Munakata knows the Red King well enough to be aware that he will never let this pass. He might sleep all day, not doing anything, but Munakata knows he feels responsible for his clansmen. Munakata also knows that Suoh's sword of Damocles is already in a critical state, and that it'll fall if Suoh takes his revenge on the Colorless King. He knows that another incident like the Kagutsu Crater is absolutely out of question, but Suoh'll never give up on his decision to avenge Totsuka.

So he'll have to kill Suoh before his sword falls. The knowledge that Suoh probably realizes this as well, but will carry out his vendetta nonetheless saddens Munakata so much more than it angers him. And it's not even like he isn't angry. He is. That's why it hurts so much.

Still, Munakata's not one to give up without fighting. So he'll do what he can to stop Suoh.

When he visits him in his cell, he slams Suoh's head against a wall. This is his way of venting his anger, his sadness, and all the conflicted emotions he feels, hoping that maybe Suoh would get them and let Munakata take care of everything. He is conscious that it is a foolish hope. The meeting leads nowhere. If anything, it only adds to Munakata's pain.

His next attempt to bring Suoh back to his senses is just as fruitless, and in fact, Munakata just wanted a final conversation with Suoh. In the back of his mind, maybe he was hoping for a miracle, too, but miracles it seems, never happen -not for him.

* * *

He might have been prepared to it, but as the sword pierces Suoh through his heart, Munakata could swear that _his_ has been stabbed too. He is so angry at Suoh, for making Munakata clean after his mess, for putting his revenge before whatever they might have had. More than anything, though, he is angry at himself. He blames himself for not being able to convince Suoh, for not being able to find the Colorless King before him. He finally blames himself for caring so much about such a selfish man. Normally, he channels his frustration on Suoh, because it is convenient for he knows Suoh never judges him.

But now there is nothing left of him.

He hears HOMRA's motto in the distance,  _"No blood, No bone, No ash."_

 _Indeed._ Now that he's gone, Munakata, with no one to turn to, will just have to become that man everyone thinks he is. The emotionless Blue King.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry... *sobs*


	2. Gluttony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excess is never healthy, especially not in drinks. But it isn't always that bad a thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! This is my Valentine Gift to fellow MikoRei shippers. Hope you'll enjoy.  
> The chapter is inspired of one of my favorite scene in one of my favorite books, "The Hellhole".

 

The Blue and Red Clans meet at a restaurant by coincidence.

Munakata has thrown another of his parties in order to strengthen the bond between the members of Scepter 4. This time, he's decided against having their get-together simply in their building, declaring that it would show more 'solidarity' if they all went to a place that isn't their home to celebrate. What it is they're supposed to celebrate, his subordinates fail to get. Well, maybe with the exception of the Lieutenant who seems to understand- or at least, approve of, the Captain's every whim. In any case, all the members of the Special Division are here now. They had tried to get an excuse not to go; a dying grandma, a contagious illness, laundry to finish, even a report to the Gold King, but to no avail. Munakata's smile when he told them he was very disappointed they couldn't come had scared every single one of them. It was as if that smile had meant that if someone dared to come not, that someone would come across an unpleasant, possibly fatal accident during their next mission.

As for the Red Clansmen, they've come to celebrate Totsuka's birthday. They all have a lot of affection for the man, it seems, as they're all present, and looking at least thrice happier than any of the Blues –with the exception of Munakata and Awashima, of course, who are practically in glee. The Reds have even managed to drag their King along.

It is surprising that they've convinced him to come. Suoh doesn't like to have to participate in any group activity. Its' too noisy he'd say.

But the seclusion seeking King has one weakness. Kusanagi and Totsuka had told Anna that Mikoto was reluctant to come. This, of course saddened the young girl who had then gone to ask Mikoto at once.

"You're not coming to Totsuka's birthday party?" she asked with her eyes full of disappointment.

 _Checkmate_ , the two conspirators thought, exchanging a mischievous wink.

"I'm coming," the Red King simply answered, with a trace of regret that Anna failed to detect despite her powers due to the joy of being able to contemplate Mikoto's pretty red as everyone would rejoice tonight.

* * *

 

By another odd strike of fate, the rival clans have reserved neighboring tables. The Blue Clan has already started their "festivities" when HOMRA arrives.

The atmosphere in the restaurant chill when they realize that not only they are going to have to spend the whole night at the same place, they'll even have to sit next to their enemies. Awashima asks Munakata if maybe they should leave. After thinking a little about it, the Blue King says, "Awashima-kun, I don't see any reason for us to leave. After all,  _most_  of the people present here are civilized people," accentuating the 'most' and throwing a side-eyed glance at Suoh who just huffs in response.

Despite the supposed-to-be-reassuring comment, the air in the room feels heavier, everyone afraid of a possible clash between the two Kings. With an awkward cough, Kusanagi asserts, "The Blue King is right, there is no reason for any of us to leave. We came here to attend our own business and have no intention of causing any trouble. Right,  _Yata-chan?_ "

He then looks at Yatagarasu, who is eyeing Fushimi with a murderous glare, the latter looking at him with the anticipating smirk of a hunter who's found his prey. The look on Kusanagi's eyes make the two kids give up on bickering, as the barman looks at them the same way he'd look at someone who is intending to rub his precious counter with sandpaper. The sight makes the two calm down, not wanting to be found butchered in a dirty alley at dawn.

Now that a temporary ceasefire has been mutually agreed, the Red Clansmen take their seat at their table. To rile him up, Suoh chooses the sit just behind Munakata's. The Blue King doesn't give in, though, and simply resumes attending to (or rather,  _torturing_ ) his own men.

After an hour or so of peace, Hidaka, trying to lighten the mood on their side with anything, suggests that they command some alchohol.

"Hidaka-kun, there are minors with us, it wouldn't be fair to be drinking when they aren't allowed to," Munakata answers.

They had somewhat expected the refusal, so they decide to give up on this distraction. But then, they hear the Red King say, "Such a lame excuse. Just admit you don't want your clansmen to see you drunk. You're such a light-weight, after all."

The Blue clansmen may fear Munakata, they may think he's weird, but they do have a lot of respect for him. So when they hear someone berate him, they always feel outraged for his sake. Still, the fear of the Red King stops them from reacting, so nobody dares to say anything. Well, nobody but Doumyouji, who has drunk too much milk and looks a bit tipsy. So he screams, sounding like Suoh had thrown a mortal insult at Munakata, "C-captain! You can't just let HOMRA step on Scepter 4's honor like this! You have to retaliate!"

Munakata, though, wasn't too upset bt Suoh provocation, so he replies calmly, "Doumyouji-kun, I'm very glad you care so much about our clan's honor, but we cannot risk destroying public property for a revenge for such a light affront, can we?"

Kusanagi, who has been listening to the conversation, sees there an opportunity to spice up their little celebration. "There is a way to settle this without resorting to  _physical_  violence."

Munakata's interest is piqued. "So what are you suggesting, then, Kusanagi-san?"

"Since Mikoto's slur has been about your alcohol tolerance, I propose that you two make an alcohol duel."

"An alcohol duel? How do you do that, would you care to explain?"

"The rules are simple. Each party drinks a certain quantity of drink, and then throws an insult to his adversary, who has to drink and insult the other twice as much. The strength of the drink, its quantity, the offense in the insult have to be ascending. The loser is the one who fails to do any of these."

"Why the insult, though?" asks Munakata, who is reticent to having to speak in a vulgar language in front of all his men.

"It is to make sure the participants are still conscious, and not too drunk to even think or talk," Kusanagi answers.

"I see. This seems very interesting, but I wouldn't want to set a bad example to my youngest clansmen."

"Aren't you just scared to lose, Munakata?" Suoh says, daringly.

"Captain! You can't let him offend you twice without retaliating! You have to accept the duel!" Doumyouji cried.

He sees that most of his men are supporting the proposition, so Munakata relents, "Very well, if my men insist, then I'm in. Prepare to lose, HOMRA's Suoh Mikoto."

"We shall go from beer to vodka and from a shot to a pitcher. Is that fine for everyone?" Kusanagi asks.

The two Kings nod, and before they begin their duel, Kamamoto stands to take Anna home for obvious reasons. Not only is it already very late, but they cannot just let her watch her guardian drink a large quantity of booze and throw insults at Munakata. It would ruin her image of him.

Kusanagi goes to talk to the owner of the place, and after some greasing and subtle threats, he makes him agree to leave it for the two clans for the rest of the night when all the other customers have left.

When everything is ready, all the bottles and recipients set on a table, and everyone gathered around it, Munakata and Suoh settle to seat face to face.

The designated arbiter to the duel is Kusanagi, naturally.

"Because the 'offended' one is the Blue King, he'll be the one to start the hostilities. From beer to vodka. From a shot to a pitcher."

Munakata nods, and then drinks a shot of beer without difficulty. "Bum," he says, sounding unconcerned.

Kusanagi says, "Your turn, Mikoto. After beer come wines."

Suoh just huffs and easily drinks a glass of Bordeaux. "Stuck-in-the-mud."

They hear someone in the public say, "How do we know the offense in the insult is greater than in the previous one?"

Kusanagi just shrugs dismissively, "Well, let's not give too much importance to the insults, as long as they can throw any. The next recipient is this tumbler."

Munakata fills said recipient to the brim with Bourgogne, and again, drinks all the contents without much trouble."Barbarian."

Without having to be told, Suoh takes the next recipient, disdains the Malaga and fills it with Madeira instead. He downs it in one gulp, and after wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, "Loner."

If Suoh's passed with the Malaga, then Munakata's passing the Porto and directly goes for Cognac. Also, even if there are smaller recipients before the chope, he fills just that without hesitation, and drinks it all in one gulp. He's starting to feel a bit tipsy, but he won't lose to Suoh. "Leech."

Seeing Munakata's expression waver a little, Suoh smirks, already thinking he's going to win this game. He fills a larger chope with Kirsch and starts drinking it. He has to take some gulps to empty the huge container, but he manages, somehow. The world is starting to spin around him, but he's planning on claiming this and brag about it to Munakata for the rest of his life. "Nerd."

Normally, the insult would have made Munakata furious, but he doesn't seem to having heard it. He's only focused on drinking and on finding a good slur to throw at Suoh. After the chope Suoh has chosen, there's only the pitcher left. There's also no stronger wine left, so he takes a bottle of rum. He then makes and maintains eye contact with Suoh. Instead of pouring the rum into the pitcher, he puts the bottleneck directly to his mouth, eyes not leaving Suoh's, with the firm intention to down the whole content. It takes him some time to do so, much struggling also, and he's barely conscious when he's done. That he's managed to finish such a strong drink after everything he's drunk is a miracle in itself, and maybe the only reason he was able to is the sight of Suoh, who looked somewhat mesmerized by his performance. The awe in his nemesis' eyes was enough motivation for him to finish even a barrel (or so his alcohol imbued mind believes)

Despite his prowess – or because of it, Munakata looks very much done for. Nobody thinks that he'll be able to say anything in this state. Still, there's a voice in Munakata's head that tells him he can't let the idiot in front of him win even after such an admirable fight. He manages to mutter "Jerk."

Kings are really something else, the audience thinks, normal people would never be able to drink so much without danger. Some of them, including some HOMRA members, can't help but give a horray of admiration to the Blue King.

Yatagarasu isn't one of these, of course, and goes to encourage his King, instead. "Mikoto-san, you can do it!" he cries, earning a 'tsk' from a certain traitor, who's been very focused on the duel, despite himself, only distracted by his ex-roommate's cheering.

Suoh takes a bottle of whisky. He also tries to drink the whole bottle, and it's only because he wants to prove Munakata he can do just as good as him that he succeeds on finishing it. After this, it takes him several moments before he can throw a "Freak," at Munakata.

It takes another several moments before Munakata can brace himself enough to be able to grab the tequila. These minutes were enough for Suoh to also recover a little, and he says, sounding a little worried "That's enough, Munakata. Let's call it a draw, you're gonna hurt yourself if you drink more than this."

Munakata shakes his head, "No way. I'm not letting this game end so easily."

Then he downs the bottle, and as he does so, the same fascination as earlier shows on Suoh's face. Munakata can't see it this time though, because his vision is way too blurry now. He's finished the bottle, so with a supreme effort, "Retard," and then he collapses.

Suoh won't be bested by Munakata, so he takes the bottle of vodka and also manages to drink it all. After he last gulp, he drops the bottle, and falls next to Munakata. He can't even open his eyes now, and he's already starting to drift to sleep. He doesn't know how long he's been half-unconscious like this, but he then feels Munakata's hand nudge him. Suoh hears him call out his name with a trace of concern in his voice. So the Red King raises his chest, and supports himself on his elbow, manages to grimace a smile as he says, "Smartass," and he cannot help the fondness in his voice.

Nobody thinks about pondering whether 'smartass' is insulting or not. All they see is that there is nothing left after the vodka, so this memorable duel can only count as a draw. They make an ovation for the two Kings, even if they cannot hear them, as they've now fallen asleep on their table, with their head next to each other's.

* * *

 

As most of the clansmen have left, Kusanagi and Awashima discuss about what they should do of their respective Kings. Totsuka pops in the conversation and says with a wink, "We should just leave them together in a hotel room, with a tape of tonight's duel, I'm sure they'll enjoy!"

Kusanagi laughs, "Well, I should have known you'd have recorded the whole show, huh. Let's do this; they're on for a good hangover, so they won't be able to kill each other tomorrow, when they wake up. What do you think, Seri-chan?"

She answers, pensive, "This looks like a good solution; they won't be alone when they wake up… Very well, let's do that."

Totsuka adds, cheerfully, "Aah, to think that King and Munakata-san will be spending Valentine's night together on the same bed. It's just as good as a real lovers' date, right?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I was no connoisseur in alcoholic drinks until yesterday, when I wrote this. Not that I'm really any better now, anyway. I don't really know if this is the good hierarchy in terms of strength of alchohol, so feel free to tell me if any of these is in a bad position.


	3. Envy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It takes a little pushing for people to realize what they truly want.
> 
> This one acts as a sequel for the previous theme (Gluttony)

ENVY

 

After they’ve both passed out suit to last night’s drinking duel, they’ve been left in the nearest hotel from the restaurant, the place being too far from either’s apartment to drag them on that distance at this hour. Of course, Kusanagi and Totsuka insisted that they’d book only one room for the two Kings, because a) it’s cheaper – though it wasn’t exactly like they were particularly tight-fisted, b) that way they won’t be alone when they wake up, and c) maybe a good talk when neither one of them will be able to fight will help things get a little easier between the two clans –or at least between the two of them.

* * *

 

Surprisingly enough, Suoh is the first to wake up. When he opens his eyes, he is a lot disoriented at first. This definitely isn’t his room, and he doesn’t remember ever going here. He might have a fairly high tolerance to alcohol, but he is sure that’s one of the worst hangovers he’s ever experienced. As his thoughts start to clear a bit, bits of last night’s events come back to his memory and he understands that it must be his men who left him there. He sees a note from Totsuka that confirms his thought on the bedside table, pinned under a tape that’s probably a record of the duel, knowing the man. He still doesn’t get why they didn’t take him at HOMRA but he doesn’t really care; his head hurting too much to ponder about such trivialities. When he starts wondering what’s happened to Munakata, he notices the sleeping form beside him. It turns out to be him and Suoh can’t help but find it ironic. They’ve had sex quite a number of times already, but they’ve never slept together; Munakata’s always refused to. He’d argue that he can’t set a bad example to his men by spending the night out of the dorms –as if his men would ever learn about that. When he isn’t too exhausted to throw darts at Suoh, he’d say, “The mere thought of having to spend the whole night with you makes my stomach churn.” And admittedly, chances that his stomach _will_ churn when he wakes up are high – though the one at fault might not be Suoh, but all the drinks he’s ingurgitated, meaning, Munakata himself. The thought makes Suoh breathe an amused laugh.

The sound wakes Munakata, who seems to be quite in pain. Despite his prowess of last night, Munakata can’t exactly stand too much alcohol, not as much as yesterday, anyway; it’s the challenge that’s made him able to stand till the end, so now, all the effects of the hangover are assaulting him. It’s already quite late in the morning so the brightness of the room hurts his oversensitive eyes, making him whine. He feels a hand gently brush his forehead, and jerks. He didn’t expect that there’d someone with him. And when he hears his… _Bedmate ?_ \- because that’s how you call someone who shares a bed with you, he reasons - so when he hears his bedmate ask, “You okay?”, his surprise doubles when he recognizes Suoh’s voice. The realization makes him sit up and retreat further back on the bed. The sudden gesture causes a jolt of pain to his head, and Suoh hands him a glass of water, and then pours himself one as well. Munakata accepts the water with a muttered “Thanks”, and drinks. The re-hydration helps a little, and he tries to remember the circumstances that made him do such a foolish thing as to end up sleeping with Suoh –again-  of all people. He recalls the duel, but his mind is blank after the event, so he asks, “Suoh Mikoto, would you pray tell me what you did to make me spend the night with you? Such a barbarian, luring people who are unable of consent to bed. How disgusting.”

Suoh makes an exasperated sigh, “And why do you assume I’m the one who ‘lured’ you in here? Do you even feel sore anywhere?”

Munakata is about to protest at the implication that he might be the one who got them here, but then, he does realize that apart from the terrible headache and the nauseous feeling, he doesn’t feel sore anywhere _else_. It means that they’ve slept here without doing anything. That’s…– and here he doesn’t know from what part of his intoxicated brain this idea comes – that’s what couples would do. This is rather disturbing because they’re not even anything near friends. Never will be able to be, in fact. For a moment, thinking that they’ll never be able to become anything more because they’re not like any people, they’re Kings, causes a stinging pain to his chest, but he chooses to attribute the foolish thought to his inebriation, and the pain to his hangover. The poor excuse to himself makes his headache worsen nevertheless, forcing him to lie back down.

Suoh looks at him, a bit alarmed and inquires, “What’s wrong? You’re even paler than earlier.”

“No need to get worried, I’ll be fine. So, how did we end up here?”

Suoh hands him the note from Totsuka, and Munakata searches for his glasses to read it.

Suoh smirks, “You really can’t see shit, huh?”

Expectedly, even without being able to see the smugness on Suoh’s face, Munakata frowns, “Shut up.”

He even tries to direct a feeble punch at Suoh, but misses him, making Suoh’s amusement double. Suoh presses a hand to Munakata’s chest to make him lie down again, and reaches for the glasses that were on Munakata’s bedside table and gently puts them on Munakata. As he does so, his head stays over Munakata’s and violet orbs meet gold. They stare at each other like that for a moment, and at some time, without really knowing why, Suoh thinks about closing the little distance between their mouths, but then Munakata laughs. “Your face is too close,” he says.

Suoh blinks, and then laughs too, “I don’t wanna hear that from you, of all people.”

He shifts to lie beside Munakata, propped on his elbow and adds, “The note.”

 _Right,_ and Munakata reads it.

“ _To King,_

_You and Munakata-san passed out after your duel so we decided to take you both to this nearby hotel. The room is booked for the rest of the day so have fun, and don’t fight, okay? ;)_

_P.S-The duel ended with a draw, and there’s a tape there if you want to watch it together. It was a Valentine’s night full of good memories, wasn’t it?”_

Munakata sighs at the absurd note, “You really have quite a variety of men in your clan, don’t you? Surprisingly, you even have a… _pacifist_ in your band of hoodlums.

-That guy is also a handful in his own way, don’t be mistaken. There are moments I wish my men were as disciplined as yours. Sometimes they cause too much ruckus for their own good.

-Well, I can’t really blame them, given what bad example they get from their King,” Munakata says with a smirk, looking up at Suoh.

Suoh huffs, but before he can say anything, Munakata continues, “At least, HOMRA looks like a real family, unlike Scepter4. I wonder what you can do to have such a united clan.”

Deep inside, Munakata knows exactly what it is that makes the bond in HOMRA so strong. Suoh has an aura that resembles a magnet that attracts everything to him, Munakata included. It has nothing to do with him being a King; it’s something that comes naturally from him. He is like the sun, and it’s natural that you seek and cherish its warmth. Munakata on the other hand, is like one of those stars from legends, guiding you to your destination, but never are the destination itself. The sun and those stars both have a powerful sparkle and are unreachable, but the sun is closer, and however more beautiful, starry nights are cold. These characteristics fit their respective positions, as the Red and Blue Kings so much that Munakata thinks that must be the reason why the Slate has placed them there.

Suoh disturbs him from his thoughts, sounding somewhat bitter as he says, “I didn’t do anything to make HOMRA the way it is now. I’ve never made any action as a King, and have no merit in being their leader, unlike you. You have everything that anyone would ask from a King.”

Munakata is surprised at how honest they’re being now, and attributes it to last night’s drinks, refusing to admit to himself that maybe their sleeping together has given them the impression of becoming closer and has anything to do with this. He’s also a little stunned to hear that Suoh actually happens to think about his duties as a King. He’d always thought that the barbarian only ever thinks of causing trouble, especially to him.

Suoh, on the other side, is surprised to hear that there’s anything at all that Munakata envies him. He’d always known that Munakata is the type to overthink things, but he didn’t know he cared that much about forging genuine bonds, always assumed that the guy thinks of most people as pawns or pieces from his puzzles.

When they have those revelations, they stare at each other absently, neither saying anything, absorbed in their own thoughts. Munakata’s phone rings, taking them out of their contemplations, and breaking the silence.

Munakata picks up, “Munakata Reisi speaking… Oh, Awashima-kun, good morning… Yes, I’m doing fine, thank you for your concern… I see. You really don’t have to worry; I need some rest is all. Speaking of which, you too, Awashima-kun. Have a good rest during the week-end… Fushimi-kun? I’m sure this isn’t something to get alarmed for… Yes, I’ll see you soon.”

When he hangs up, Suoh says, “See, your men do care about you. The Tundra Woman wouldn’t have called otherwise.”

Munakata smiles, actually touched by Awashima’s call, “I suppose.”

A silence, and then Suoh asks, “I’m just curious, but what was about Fushimi, just now?

-Well, it seems he hasn’t come home to the dorms last night. He must have fled with Yatagarasu after the party. Nothing to worry about, I’m sure they’ll be fine.” He pauses, and continues, “Speaking of Fushimi-kun, he is an excellent subordinate, you know. A good kid too, and whatever he might say, it’s thanks to HOMRA. He’d be much more of an asocial than he is if you and your clan weren’t there.”

Suoh is a bit taken aback by the unexpected compliment, but he manages to hide it anyway. He just smiles a little and says, “Good for him, then.”

At that moment comes the revelation that neither of them really has a reason to be too terribly jealous of the other. They both have to deal with the same burdens as any King, it’s only the main issues that differ. They come to realize that the people they should really envy are their clansmen, and all those normal people, who are free to do whatever they want to do and… be with whoever they want to be.

Today, though, is a day off, so they don’t have to worry about their duties. So maybe they should make the most of such a rare-occurring day and forget about everything else, to do what everybody is allowed to do.

The next action Munakata makes, is another thing he’ll charge on the alcohol later, but for now he absolutely doesn’t care. He leans down to kiss Suoh, and they taste each other for a little while. When the kiss breaks, Munakata says, with an unconvincing disgusted face because of the smirk he can’t repress, “You reek of alcohol.”

Suoh huffs, and returns the smirk, “Well, that makes us two.”

He continues, suggestively, “We both need a shower. Especially you, that’ll make your headache better.”

“I’ll go later, I guess. For now, I think going back to sleep will be more helpful for my head. Go ahead first, if you want.”

Suoh knows Munakata isn’t turning him down. Rather, it’s a form of invitation, in Munakata’s own sinuous way. “Later I’ll go too, then.”

He takes Munakata’s glasses off, leans over Munakata to put them back on the bedside table. He tugs Munakata closer as he lies back down, Munakata goes willingly, and they both drift off to sleep.


	4. Pride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, you can be the cause of your own unhappiness.

PRIDE

 

This week is quite a rare week for Munakata. For the first time in what seem to him like decades, he isn’t drowned in paperwork, has no scheduled meeting, or any business that requires him to go on field. A very pleasant week, indeed. Therefore, Munakata can attend to his puzzles in peace without having Fushimi telling him to go back to work with his usual annoyed tone every time he enters his office to deliver a report.

Right now, Munakata is busy solving a jigsaw puzzle representing his third-in-command’s figure. Next to him is another jigsaw puzzle –finished for this one – with Awashima’s figure. He’s nearly halfway through this puzzle when he hears someone knock at the door. “Please, come in,” he says, looking up to see who his visitor is. It happens to be the original of his current puzzle. Munakata waits until he is in front of his desk before asking, “What is it, Fushimi-kun?”

The teen doesn’t seem to be listening to him at first. He’s staring at the puzzle that _resembles_ Awashima looking like he doesn’t believe what he sees, or rather, like doesn’t want to. So instead of answering, he asks, “Is it Lieutenant’s figure on that puzzle?”

It’s more an assertion than a question, in fact, and Munakata merely replies, “Yes, it is. Isn’t it well-made?”

Fushimi looks deeply disturbed at seeing that his King looks so comfortable admitting it. “A- Haa,” he voices by way of an answer.

“What’s wrong, Fushimi-kun? You’re starting to make monosyllables like the Red King. It’s important that we avoid such barbarian customs, as members of Scepter4 and representatives of order and justice.”

The comparison to his former King certainly doesn’t flatter the ex-HOMRA member. He doesn’t even deserve it, he thinks, who would be able to stay composed when you find that your superior has such creepy hobbies. And since Fushimi isn’t the type to keep his most disagreeable thoughts to himself, “Tsk. Captain, does the Lieutenant even know that you’re making a creepy jigsaw puzzle with her face on it?”

-Of course, she even approved it when I told her about my intention of making one of each member and expose them on the dorms’ corridors.

-E-each member?

-Yes, this unfinished one is yours.

As he says so, he shows his subordinate a piece that probably represents a fragment of his eye. It makes the poor kid make a step back, terrified.

-You look pale, Fushimi-kun. Are you doing fine?

-I-I’m not sure, he replies, voice deep with malaise.

-If you’re feeling sick, then you should take the rest of the day off since it seems like it is a quite peaceful one, anyway.

-Ah, about that. There are reports saying that the Red Clan is making actions in the industrial zone.

-Is that so? Munakata replies calmy. “They’ve been rather quiet of late; could it be that they’ve been preparing that move on the meantime?”

-We do not know if there’s anything important they might be after there, but we do know that the Red King, Suoh Mikoto is with them.

-If even the Red King has gone too, then I guess we should go see what they are up to.

Munakata doesn’t usually go to all the field-missions of Scepter4, but Suoh’s presence there is a determining factor for his joining this time. Of course, it’s not that he’s eager to see the man. He’d rather have to breathe toxic air as rarely as possible, he’d say. No, it’s just that Suoh doesn’t come with his clan often on their operations. When he does come, Munakata has to personally go with his men. No ordinary clansman could stand a chance against a King on combat, after all; and he’ll never send his clan to a losing-battle for their honor is on the line. He isn’t worried about his men’s safety, though. For as much of a barbarian that Suoh might be, Munakata knows he’ll never go as far as to make an attempt on his clansmen’s lives. Doing so would be an unmistakable declaration of war, and even Suoh cannot ignore that it can lead to nothing good for either clan.

* * *

 

When Scepter4 arrives at HOMRA’s targeted place, the Red Clan seems to have already finished its business, and is preparing to leave. The Blue clansmen get on formation for emergency battle, drawing their sabers. Munakata is the last to draw his, and then he silently orders his men to stay behind him as he advances in the direction of the Red clansmen. Suoh also instructs his men not to make a move, and walks forward to meet Munakata.

In truth, the two clans are quite used to this pattern of events. It practically happens whenever they see the two Kings meet. Each time, they talk on a corner like this. The Blue King is only supposed to make an interrogation about why HOMRA’s seized the place but with the two of them, it always turns into a competition of some sort. So the interrogation turns into a battle of words, to determine which has been able to throw the best slurs at the other.

Munakata starts the hostilities. “I was having a very good day until you came and ruined it.” That much is true. He continues, “Now there’s no chance that I’ll be able to complete today’s schedule. Unlike you, I’m a busy man, Suoh Mikoto of HOMRA.”

Given that by _‘schedule’_ , Munakata means the pile of puzzles on his desk, maybe that one can’t count as a fair blow. But in war as in war, and Suoh doesn’t need to know just _what_ Munakata’s busy with.

Now it’s Suoh’s turn, “Nobody’s asked you to leave your precious puzzles to meddle with our business here, Munakata Reisi of Scepter4.”

 _What? How did he know?_ Munakata’s brow twitch ever-so-slightly and he adjusts his glasses on his nose, but he shows no further sign of surprise. He decides not to comment on Suoh’s accusation of idleness, acting like he took it as an allegation unworthy of being considered. Therefore, he only justifies his coming here, “In case you did not know, it is Scepter4’s duty to deal with supernatural actions that might cause some trouble.”

-And need I remind you that it is each clan’s right to deal with people interfering with their business in their territory? The thugs we’ve chased here were just a bunch of useless delinquents. You should be grateful we took care of them.

-Useless delinquents? Look who’s talking.

A fairly low blow, in all honesty, and Munakata almost regrets saying it. Be there is no way he is going to apologize, of course. Kings do not apologize, and what’s more, they’re in front of their clansmen.

Suoh doesn’t look very offended though, and just replies, “Anyway, you Blues have no business here, Munakata. Not with us anyway. So make way.”

-I’m afraid that’s against my principles, and you should be aware of that. Besides, we _do_ have business here, no matter what you say. It’s not your territory here, so you weren’t allowed to just attack them like that. Also, there are reports of public property damages you’ve caused. So, Suoh Mikoto, leader of HOMRA, I’ll have to put you under arrest. Make things easier and surrender at once.

-You know there’s _no way_ I’m going to do that, don’t you?

 _Of course, I know_. Munakata isn’t a fool, and he doesn’t even want Suoh anywhere near Scepter4’s building, anyway. He just wanted to respect the procedures before resorting to violence.

-Then you leave me with no choice. We’ll have to settle this with swords in hand.

When they start fighting, Munakata’s sanctus covers a fairly large area in order to avoid further destruction of the places. This turn of things also doesn’t surprise any of the clansmen in the least. All of their negotiations end with such fights.

In times like this, Awashima usually calls Kusanagi to ask him what HOMRA’s up to. Sometimes, she deems that the explanations aren’t acceptable, orders the Red Clan to surrender –which they of course refuse, and launches the assault, to Fushimi’s greatest delight. On other times, this one included, she judges that they were more or less satisfactory, and so both clans leave the place. Awashima and Kusanagi will each have an ill-humored teen to deal with later, but at least, they know that they do not have to worry about their Kings. The two blonds do not know all the details in the relationship of the two Kings, do not exactly wish to, in fact. But they _do_ know that they’ll come home safe from their battles. They always did so far, or with some bruises at most, and there is no reason for this time to be any different.

* * *

 

As expected, the fight ends with thankfully not much damage, materially and physically speaking. They’ve stopped when they both ran out of breath, exhausted and realizing that they won’t settle anything like this, with the two of them on such equal conditions during the whole fight. Munakata’s relieved that there aren’t any major destruction; he won’t have to make a troublesome report to justify all the damages caused for once. He therefore lets Suoh go without further comments, knowing that doing so might cause the fight to resume, and he certainly doesn’t want that. Munakata’s eager to head back to Scepter4, hoping that he’ll be able to finish the reports quickly and then, resume his puzzles.

* * *

 

If someone asked the two Kings why they’re always fighting about something _every single time_ they meet, they’ll probably answer that it’s because they hate each other. An attentive observer though, would see that they enjoy each of these petty arguments, actually. As Kings, they can only give their fullest with each other. Munakata is by nature, someone who loves competition, and putting people on trial, always asks for an opponent that can put on an equal fight with him. Suoh, on the other hand, has an aura that always threatens to go wild, but he doesn’t want it to reduce just _everything_ to not even ashes. Consequently, he always struggles to keep his powers at bay. When Munakata is there, though, he knows that the Blue King can take everything he gives, so he can let out all his tension when he’s there. You could say that they’ve found their perfect match with each other, that rather than opposites, they’re complementary, but they’ll never admit as much even if they’re somewhat conscious of the fact themselves. They have –or pretend to have, too many principles that make it so that they cannot acknowledge that they in fact, appreciate each other. Munakata’s an over-polite and condescending stuck-in-the-mud, and Suoh’s a disgusting barbarian who does nothing but cause trouble and leech on society. There is no way in hell that they’ll proclaim having even an ounce of sympathy for such a man.

Even on private, far from everyone’s eyes, they keep these pretenses, even if they’d probably be happier if they didn’t try so hard to. Of course, there’s a dynamic in their relationship that is based on their petty fights. These spice things up between them, but always trying not to let out any emotions can be tiring.

Sometimes during sex, the pretenses do fall; they let their guard down and betray signs of affection. These can be shows of concern like a gentle stroke to ask if the other is alright, or straightforward fondness with fingers exploring skin in an all-too-loving manner. On the rarest occasions, on the peak of their pleasure, too lost to think about anything else, they even happen to let the given name of their partner escape their mouths.

Of course, they’ll deny these careless acts later, won’t even bring them up with each other, in fact. But none will go forgotten, no matter how hard they try; they’ll secretly remember each of them, leaving them with a bittersweet feeling on their chest.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof, finally done. I’ve had trouble writing this one. Writing on such vast topics is harder than I thought and it might be worse with the remaining sins (except for lust /coughs) So if anyone has any suggestion on what I could put in Sloth and Greed, please tell me, it’ll help a lot.


	5. Greed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes you can get the cake and the butter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, please don't pay too much mind on my loose poker knowledge, I haven't played for ages, so I barely remember the rules or the course of a game in pratic...  
> This said, hope you enjoy! ^^

GREED

 

It starts after one of the meetings the Gold King often holds with the other Kings. The Silver King, who is a very whimsical man, suddenly suggests that they play poker.

“It’ll be fun, you’ll see,” he says. “The meeting’s over, anyway. It’s always about work whenever we meet; a little distraction from time to time can’t hurt, can it?”

He looks at all the present people with pleading eyes, hoping to convince them by doing so, especially the three Kings, since their clansmen couldn’t possibly stay if their Kings aren’t there.

The Blue and Red Kings have come with their second and third-in-commands.

The Blue King is a player by nature. It’s not like he likes gambling in particular, rather just likes games in general, so he adheres to the proposition right away. He asks his two clansmen if they’d like to join. Awashima accepts, not having any plans for the rest of the day, anyway. Fushimi, though, looks like he’s waiting for something before answering, neither saying no nor yes.

On the Red side, the Third King just looks bored, as always. He doesn’t look like he is into or against it. Kusanagi, though, who is a great fan of everything related to bars and casinos, is thrilled by the idea. "Mikoto, we’re joining, too, right? It’s been a while since we haven’t played poker; it’ll bring back good ol’ memories, like Totsuka would say."

Suoh just yawns in response, and Munakata asserts, disdainfully, “Well, it’s better for the sake of everyone if a man with so little enthusiasm doesn’t join. It’ll just ruin the fun.”

"I’m in", the Red King says, smirking, after hearing his rival’s comment and devouring the look of annoyance on Munakata’s face.

HOMRA’s crowd, Yatagarasu who’s been strangely silent during the whole meeting –probably because Kusanagi had “warned” him that he’d better not engage in a fight with a certain monkey, looks somewhat revived by his King’s joining, thrilled by the idea of playing against his hero. "Yosh, here we come, then. You Blues’d better watch your asses", he cries enthusiastically.

It appears that that’s what Fushimi was waiting for, because he says, drawling with a smirk he only wears in front of his former friend, “Aren’t you a little too confident, Mi-sa-kii? Even Anna would be able to beat you.”

"Are you picking a fight, stupid monkey?!"

Awashima interrupts them before they come to hands by asking Fushimi, “I understand you’re in too, Fushimi?”

"Tsk. Yeah," the latter mutters, upset because of the intrusion in their discussion.

It’s all settled for the Silver Clan, Neko being excited by the idea of playing, even if Kuroh looks reluctant to the idea of gambling. It only takes the Silver King some persuasion to bring him in. "Did Ichigen-sama specifically say anything against Poker?"

"W-well, no bu-"

"Then, you see, it’s fine, right? And you can fold anytime you want, so come on!"

"… I don’t even know how to play."

"Neko doesn’t know either. It takes very little time to learn, trust me."

"Trust you? Hah, right, you’d better play fair or I swear I’ll slay you, understood?"

"I’m the immortal King, Kuroh. And how little do you think of me, anyway?"

As he says this, he looks at Kuroh with the eyes of a hurt puppy.

"D-don’t look at me with those eyes. Fine, I’ll play along."

The Black Dog is weak to his King’s pleas apparently, so there’s only the Gold King’s consent that’s left to be obtained before starting the game. Since he sees there an occasion to see how the Kings would interact while in a ‘friendly’ yet competitive situation, he doesn’t take long before agreeing to participate too.

The first games are spent teaching Kuroh and Neko how to play. Kuroh is outraged to hear that the Small and Big Blinds have to bet something even if they don’t even know their hands, says that it is a shameless way to extort money from someone, but the Silver King convinces him to continue playing because _you take these roles on turn, so it’s fair for everyone_.

When they really start playing, Neko is the first out, always carelessly calling or raising the bets regardless of her hands. It had worked at first, but the wheel turned quickly and she ended up losing all her chips in no time.

Yatagarasu is next to follow because of his failed attempts at bluffing. Fushimi could see right through his bravados, and didn’t hesitate to point it out loud, just to rile the crow up. "Mi-sa-kii, you won’t fool anyone with that self-assured smile, you know?"

As he says so, he raises the bets to force Yata to make an all-in. Everybody folds, but Yata calls nonetheless. "Heh, you’re the one who’s bluffing, Monkey. Take that."

"That’s why I always say you’re stupid, Misaki. You have a Full House, I suppose? Too bad, Quads here."

"H-heh? Heeeeh? You cheated, monkey!! It’s another of your card tricks, huh?!"

"You’re so noisy, Misaki. How could I even do that, I’m not the dealer. We’ve just played this enough back then so I easily can tell when you have a good hand."

Since Yata’s left the party, Fushimi’s interest in the game has drastically dropped, so even if he’d been doing extremely well until now, he’s the next to be out of the game.

After this, Awashima and Kusanagi also successively lose all their chips; leaving Kuroh with the four Kings as remnant players.

The Kings all have in common unreadable features. The Gold King, because of his experience or whatnot, has been able to remain calm and impassive. Munakata, hidden behind his glasses, could observe everyone without being scrutinized himself. Suoh, all along the game, has been wearing a bored expression, making it so that you could never tell whether it is because he has a bad hand, or if it’s just his nature –and it often turns out to be the latter, in fact. On the contrary, the Silver King’s always been so equally cheerful during the whole game that it’s been impossible to tell whether he’s bluffing –or maybe he just doesn’t care about the bets.

Kuroh, on the other hand, has had the beginner’s luck, it seems, or maybe, like he always claims, he’s had the guidance of Ichigen-sama. At every turn, he’d always make an incomprehensible quote before either calling, folding or betting. Incomprehensible the quotes might be, it apparently works, because right now, he’s the one with the most chips, making the Silver King exclaim, “That’s my wife!” This earns him death threats from said ‘wife’, but he just calms the Black Dog by telling a quote from the former Colorless Kings that he knows always works on Kuroh.

The party goes on without incident, and eventually, the Gold King also loses all of his chips. Seeing that, Munakata says, “Yatogami-kun, to think that you’ve even managed to overcome the Gold King, I’m impressed. It’s as if you had your Master’s ability to see the future; like he was telling you what to do before every move through these quotes.”

The Silver King, as most people have noticed, likes to tease his clansman, so he adds, “Oh, maybe that’s why!” He pauses, and with a pensive face, “But Kuroh, isn’t that cheating?”

Kuroh, outraged, says, “Absurdities! Ichigen-sama would never help me divest people of their belongings. That’s why I didn’t want to play this game. That’s it, I’m out of this.”

The Silver King tries to stop him, arguing that he can’t just remove all of his chips like this, but to no avail. Kuroh decides to bet all his chips, so that the one who wins the next hand takes all of his gains.

"Look, you’ve made the Black Dog leave, Munakata," Suoh says with an amused expression.

Munakata huffs in response, and retorts, “I’m not a barbarian like you, Suoh Mikoto. I didn’t chase him. I just made a remark, at most.”

"Yeah, yeah," Suoh says in an incredulous, mocking tone. “It’s not like you were scared to lose to a beginner.”

"I wasn’t losing," Munakata protests. “Look, you have even less gains than I have so you’re in no position to talk.”

"Heh, since when did you determine the winner in a poker game like this? I might not be a regular player, Munakata, but I think _you_ need to revise the rules."

The Silver King, sensing that it might end with a fight, suddenly interrupts them, “Aah, I wish I could share such complicity with someone.”

“ _I don’t share any complicity with this guy_ ,” is the reply he gets from the two Kings, in unison.

“Look,” he teases further. And if it weren’t for the murderous glares he’s receiving from the two men, he’d continue with his implications, but for now, he decides against it.

"Anyway," he drawls to change the subject, “Let’s resume the game, shall we?”

At the end of the hand, Suoh manages to take all of Kuroh’s  chips, to Munakata’s greatest displeasure.

During the next round, Suoh bets as to force the other two to go all-in. Before the next person can play –it’s the Silver King, Suoh says, “I have a deal, Munakata. If you go all-in, and if you win this hand, you get the whole pot. And if I win… let’s see… Yeah, you owe me a dinner at any place I want.”

"Oh, that’s interesting, count me in, too," the Silver King cries, but when he sees Suoh’s glare that clearly means that he isn’t welcome in this deal, he reconsiders, “Fold.”

Munakata fails to see where the trick in Suoh’s proposition is, so he asks, “Suoh, I can see how this deal is interesting for me, but in what way can a dinner be a compensation for what you might lose?”

Even if Munakata isn’t particularly interested in money, he still loves winning, but he wouldn’t agree to an unfair bet, even if it was to his advantage, so he has to make sure the single-celled barbarian in front of him understands the stake completely.

Suoh smirks, explaining, “You’ll be seen in a public place with a… what do you always call me, again… a barbarian. Right. It’ll be fun to watch your embarrassed face.”

Munakata considers that, no, he certainly wouldn’t want to have people think that he has anything to do with Suoh, but more importantly he doesn’t want Suoh to think he’s afraid of his deal. Besides, it’s only the pre-flop, so there’s no way any of them can except to win for sure. _It’s all fair,_ he thinks, so he accepts.

"Fine, I agree to the deal."

Since Munakata can’t make any more bets, the board is revealed quickly.

Just as he feared, Suoh wins -with a pair of two from the board and an As from his hand.

Suoh smirks and is about to say something, but Munakata, annoyed, glares at him.  “Don’t you say anything.”

Suoh’s smirk widens, but he actually doesn’t say anything, simply resumes playing with the Silver King.

Surprisingly, the Silver King is the one who wins the party, but Suoh doesn’t seem to care. He just stands and walks toward Munakata. "Now, my dinner," he says arrogantly.

"Does it have to be today?"

"Do you really want to report this for later?"

"I guess not. The sooner I’ll get it over with, the better. So where do you want to go?"

"Let’s get out of here first."

When they are outside, Munakata reiterates his question, “Where are we heading now, Suoh?”

"Your place."

"Wait, what? The deal was for a dinner-"

"And I _am_ asking for a dinner. At your place. I said ‘at any place I want’, remember?"

There’s nothing he can argue to that, but he still tries to make Suoh change his mind, “Listen, there are plenty of good places we could go to instead of my apartment.”

"I can go to those places any time I want but I don’t think I’ll ever get another chance to go to yours."

"Didn’t you want people to see us in a public place, anyway? Munakata asks in a final attempt to avoid the inevitable."

"They will. When we are walking till there. Now, let’s not waste our times, we’re heading to your place. I’m starving."

"Well, you’ll have to wait. There’s nothing at home so we’ll need to stop by a convenience store. Speaking of which, what do you want to eat? I’m telling you right away, though; I can’t cook too elaborate food."

Suoh’s surprised; this is actually more than he’d hoped. He hadn’t been expecting Munakata to cook for him, figured they’d order something for takeout. He’s not about to refuse the offer, though, so he says, “Just make what you like to cook the most. Curious to see if your taste in food is as stuck-up as your personality.”

There’s no venom in these words, though; bickering is just a habit that’s settled between them. Munakata is conscious of the fact, but he still answers, “A disagreeable man, as always, huh.”

They walk side by side to a convenience store, talking about nothings. When they enter there, Suoh merely follows Munakata, who picks the ingredients for their dinner carefully. Sometimes, he’d mutter, more to himself than to Suoh, things like “Is there any spices left at home?” It feels weird to do the groceries like that with Munakata, but he finds that he doesn’t hate it, even if he does hate doing the groceries by himself, finds it boring.

When Munakata’s bought everything he needs, Suoh takes half of the grocery bags and they walk in silence to Munakata’s apartment. The streets are crowded so they have to walk shoulder to shoulder and even when there are less people, they’re still standing closer than necessary to each other. However, neither seem to notice, so they walk like that during the whole journey.

When they finally arrive, Munakata shows Suoh to the living room, and heads to the kitchen. Suoh makes himself at home, and turns the TV on. His attention is elsewhere, though. He watches Munakata in the kitchen, who looks very concentrated in his work. _Meticulous as hell, even in the kitchen,_ Suoh thinks, smiling a little but not realizing it himself.

Munakata’s wearing a blue apron, and Suoh finds that it suits him, and he can’t stop his imagination, picturing what Munakata’d look like with _only_ the apron. He shakes his head to chase the thought from his mind and forces his focus back to the TV.

It takes about half an hour for the meal to be ready. Half an hour that Suoh spends trying to repress his fantasies that go from his initial thought of Munakata in an apron to pictures of him in various rather kinky ‘uniforms’. When Munakata calls him to tell him that dinner’s ready, he’s a little startled at first, but then he turns off the TV and stands to head to the dining room.

Munakata has made pasta, it seems. Suoh’s kind of surprised because of his choice of a menu, so he asks, “Thought you’d make traditional food.”

"It would have taken too much time to prepare. Anyway, I thought that maybe you wouldn’t like it."

"Thanks for the consideration, then," Suoh says, with a smirk that you could almost mistake for an actual smile.

Munakata says nothing in response, just goes back to his kitchen to fetch some red wine.

"You trying to get us drunk?" Suoh teases.

"Of course not. I just figured that it wouldn’t make for a proper dinner if I didn’t serve any drinks. Wouldn’t want to give you anything to say against my hospitality."

Maybe it’s because the meal’s good - though it’s to be expected from Munakata, or maybe it’s the wine that soothes the soul, but they have their dinner in a surprisingly convivial atmosphere.

When they’re done eating, Munakata clears the table. Suoh asks if he needs help but Munakata refuses, says that Suoh is his guest tonight and then Munakata heads to the kitchen to put the dishes in the dishwasher.

When Munakata comes back, Suoh has stood from his chair and is now admiring a chessboard. "Could it be that a barbarian like you actually knows how to play chess?"

"I’m not stupid, you know," Suoh huffs.

Munakata chuckles. "My bad, then. So, do you want to play a party?"

"Nah, it’s an annoying game. But we could settle the party from earlier, though, since none of us has actually won."

"Hm, interesting. Then, how much shall we put on the stake?"

"How about… clothes?" Suoh says in a voice intended to be seducing.

He didn’t expect that it would work, of course, so Munakata’s answer is expected. "Strip poker, then? What makes you think I’m interested in divesting you of your clothes?"

It’s a lie, and they both know it. The sight of Suoh’s body is candy to the eyes, in all honesty. But they also know that Munakata won’t let himself get dragged in this game without coaxing.

"Don’t be such a prude, Munakata," Suoh says, smirking.

"Shouldn’t you know by now that it’s not the case?" Munakata replies, returning the smirk. He loosens his tie and undoes the top two buttons of his shirt to prove his point.

"Should I take that as a ‘yes’?"

"You don’t say."

Suoh might not get Munakata to wear all those uniforms he’d been fantasizing about earlier, but at least tonight, he’ll make him wear _nothing_ ; if not with this game, then with seduction, for all means are fair to get what he wants.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It wasn't supposed to be this long, at the beginning orz


	6. Sloth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doing nothing together is doing something together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Please forgive any OOCness in this one, the heat here is messing up with my head...  
> This said, hope you'll still enjoy!

SLOTH

It's been a busy week at Scepter4 and Fushimi Saruhiko enters the Blue King's office to deliver a report. He's not that surprised to find his King solving a puzzle but it irritates him nonetheless that he's having fun while his clansmen are doing all the work; aren't superiors supposed to give an example to their subordinates? In an annoyed tone, he says, "Captain, please do some work."

Munakata looks up from his puzzles and smiles ingenuously as he justifies himself, "Fushimi-kun, you don't imagine the amount of new ideas I get when I'm solving a puzzle like this."

Fushimi isn't sure if that counts as an acceptable answer but he drops the matter, knowing that he probably won't get his King to do anything today. Munakata is always like this, never doing any work, he always gives everything to his subordinates (especially Fushimi, the teen's noticed)

When Munakata is not doing puzzles, he's having a tea ceremony. These ceremonies are hella long and oh-so-pointless. Fushimi wonders how active people can even afford to do it.  _No, they don't have time for that_ , he thinks. Consequently, that makes Munakata an idle person, like these medieval Kings, and it's so like Munakata. Maybe Munakata's been born in the wrong era then. Not only he spends too much time on his various dubious hobbies, he likes to bother people who are trying to be productive by forcing them to join him.

When he isn't at his hobbies, he's chasing after the Red King and he does that so often –every time the Red King's making a move, in fact –that Fushimi wonders if it's not just another of his hobbies. It might be that Munakata is worried about Suoh's Weismann Level, but that's not a reason enough in Fushimi's opinion, especially when his King always professes his hate for the Red King.

In terms of productivity, whatever Munakata might say, he's in the same level as his former King, Fushimi thinks.

Suoh Mikoto is just sleeping all day. Back then, when he'd enter the bar, it was very rare not to find his King sleeping somewhere inside. Even on outings, the otter would always find a place to nap.

Scepter4's third man thinks that the Red King is some useless man who does nothing for society and he really doesn't know why Misaki is captivated by such a lethargic person.

On the rare times he's awake, he always wears a bored expression. That is, except when he's fighting against the Blue King. There must be something between these two, but Fushimi doesn't want to dig further into it.

The truth is that his two Kings aren't that awful, and Fushimi knows it deep inside; he just won't ever admit it. That (somewhat) good inner sentiment might permanently change though, if he saw how the two Kings are with each other when they're alone on peaceful days.

Sometimes, Suoh comes to visit Munakata at his office and when Munakata's not too busy and is on a good mood –generally when he gets new puzzles or when he's offered tea or sweets –he'd authorize Suoh to laze around in his office. On these times, Munakata would keep on doing what he's been doing before Suoh's arrival and he would let Suoh sleep there. On  _really_  good days, Munakata'd let him have his nap on Munakata's lap, being too occupied with a game to think about reprimanding Suoh.

He'd tried to make Suoh participate to his tea ceremonies, but faithful to his title of barbarian with no taste, Suoh'd always massacre the ceremony. He'd either skip a step or just spoil the tea, or openly get bored of it so Munakata gave up on trying to refine his barbaric taste.

* * *

This time, Suoh intends to visit Munakata's apartment instead of his office. This means that he's looking forward to a fuck. Lately, he's got the habit of going to Munakata's place like this since he can't get any in Munakata's office. Munakata's touchy about the subject and is uncompromising on his refusal to allow Suoh to 'attack' him in his own office. "How do you want me to keep doing my work here when the place reminds me of your disgusting image?"

At least, Munakata's okay with having Suoh's 'disgusting image' in his apartment and Suoh's become familiar enough with this place that he knows where Munakata hides his spare key.

When he rings and gets no answer, he takes the key from its hiding place and enters with the intention to wait for Munakata to come back from work.

He's surprised when he sees Munakata lying on his bed under layers of blankets. He's sleeping apparently, because he doesn't seem to having heard Suoh come in.

 _That's unusual,_  Suoh thinks. After all, Munakata always complains about being "busy" –even if Suoh doesn't believe him. When he's not working, he's always doing some lame thing like doing a puzzle or drinking tea, but sleeping like this on such a relatively early hour of the day –or afternoon, as it is –just isn't like him.

Suoh approaches the bed to take a closer look and sees little beads of sweat on Munakata's face. Suoh reaches a hand to feel Munakata's forehead and notices that he's burning up.

The touch wakes Munakata and when he opens his eyes and sees Suoh, he doesn't react at first. After a moment of staring at him, he finally says, "I must be dreaming."

-Dumbass, you're awake and having a fever.

-Dreaming that Suoh Mikoto, the barbarian, thinks that he can teach me something, Munakata continues, ignoring Suoh.

Suoh can feel his frustration rise, so he says, "Should I pinch you or maybe burn you to prove that you're awake?" As he says this, Suoh's aura is already leaking from his body. Feeling the heat of Suoh's flame, Munakata finally realizes that he isn't dreaming, indeed. It's only then that the surprise of Suoh presence in his apartment strikes him, "What are you doing here, Suoh?"

Suoh doesn't answer. Munakata might be sick, but for sure, he'd find the force to kick Suoh out of his apartment if Suoh said that he came to fuck. Therefore, Suoh asks another question instead, "Why isn't anybody taking care of you when you're sick?"

-I can take care of myself, Suoh, Munakata retorts defensively.

-I don't doubt it, Suoh says sarcastically. "But shouldn't your clansmen be a tad worried that their King is bedridden?"

-They don't know about it. Awashima-kun always panics when I get the littlest flu so I didn't want to worry her.

-How characteristic of a loner like you.

-You're not one to talk.

_A cough._

Suoh sighs and changes the subject, not wanting to start a fight now, so he suggests, "You should take some medicine."

-I have already taken some.

-When?

-When I got home, around noon.

Suoh takes a look at the clock; it's past six, so he says, "Then you should take more."

Munakata looks at him curiously, "And since when did you learn how to take care of sick people?"

Suoh merely shrugs, "Well, I have to take care of Anna when she's sick and Kusanagi's fussy about medicine stuff. The quantity of things you learn around fussy people…"

Suoh doesn't look like he's talking about Kusanagi when he says his last line but Munakata prefers to ignore him.

-Where do you put your medicines?

-There's a medical kit on the shelf in the bathroom. But I don't need your help, I can take it myself.

-You stay here, Suoh  _commands_  and Munakata'd have protested if he were doing better, but now, he relents and says nothing.

Suoh goes to the bathroom to take the medicine and to the kitchen to fetch some water. He silently gives these to Munakata and returns to the bathroom.

When he comes back, he brings a small basin of water and a piece of cloth. Munakata is scowling but he lets Suoh wipe his forehead with the cloth. When Suoh wipes down his throat to his chest, Munakata shivers. With a slightly redder face, he says, "That won't be necessary"

Suoh smirks; he's heard that feverish people have more  _sensitive_  skin but he considers that it's a bad idea to verify the theory on Munakata now so he just says, "How ironic. Now you're the one who's just lying on a bed and I'm the one doing something ' _useful'."_

 _-_ This sole occurring won't make you a productive person.

-How ungrateful, Suoh huffs.

Suoh settles on Munakata's bed, legs crossed and then tries to gently lift Munakata's head to make him rest on his lap. Munakata tries to resist, "What on earth are you trying to do?"

-Anna always sleeps with me when she's sick. She says I'm warm.

Well, that's true, Suoh really is quite warm but that's not a reason for Munakata to sleep on his lap.

-Then you could just lie on the bed, Munakata mumbles.

-I could. But I wanna take the role reversal the farthest, Suoh retorts.

Normally, Munakata'd put on much more of a fight but right now, he has no energy for that and anyway, Suoh's quite comfortable too, so he relents.

Munakata quickly falls asleep like this and Suoh follows him soon after –the man can sleep in any position, apparently.

Suoh's is awaken when he feels Munakata shift on his lap. He's drinking a glass of water. Seeing that Suoh's awake, "Shouldn't you leave now? It's getting late; your men could get worried."

-And abandon you like this? Suoh smirks and continues, "If they find you dead tomorrow, don't wanna feel guilty all my life for leaving you alone without care."

-Such an annoying man.

Munakata sighs, "But where are you going to sleep? Because I don't suppose you'll spend the night like this?"

-Didn't you offer that I sleep beside you earlier?

-Not in these terms, Munakata says, looking away.

- _Did_ you?

 _A heavier sigh_ , "I did… But don't you try anything funny during my sleep. I'll kill you even if it's the last thing I do."

-I'm not in the habit to molest impotent people.

-I'll show you if I'm impotent…

_A cough._

-There, there. You don't want to worsen your condition, Suoh says, laughing as he shifts to lie beside Munakata.

Munakata seems to have calmed down and he's about to go back to sleep when he feels Suoh lift to prop himself on one elbow. Munakata looks at him suspiciously and finally, Suoh speaks, "Shouldn't I get a reward for nursing you like this?"

-Nobody's asked you to.

-You're an ingrate, you know that, Munakata?

 _Yet another sigh,_ and Munakata has the impression that he's sighed more often than coughed today because of the insufferable man beside him.

-What do you want?

Suoh smirks. "A goodnight kiss."

The muscles of Munakata's face make and involuntary twitch because of the desperate case in front of him. " _Good night,"_ he says before turning to give his back to Suoh.

-The 'kiss' part is missing, though, Suoh teases.

Of course, Suoh's hadn't expected to get a kiss from Munakata, but it's fun to rile him up.

- _Good_.  _Night_.

Suoh breathes another laugh, gets closer to Munakata and puts an arm around his waist to pull him closer.

-I told you not to do anything funny.

-You paranoid prude. I'm warning you up; be grateful.

 _An umpteenth sigh,_ and Munakata gives up and says warily for the third time, "Good night."

-Good night, Suoh finally says back and then they both drift to sleep.

* * *

Munakata's alarm rings early in the morning. He's feeling completely recovered now so he wants to get prepared for work. He tries to get out of Suoh's embrace to get up but Suoh's arms tighten around his waist.

-Suoh, let go of me, I need to go to work. You can still sleep if you want.

Suoh says in a still sleepy voice that's not  _that_  different from his usual one, "You're not intending to work when you're still sick, are you?"

-There's no need for me to stay here in bed, I'm already feeling a lot better.

-Shouldn't you know that even if you're 'feeling a lot better', you mustn't assume that your fever's gone and thus mustn't make too much effort?

-My job consists mainly of office works, as you already know. I won't exhaust myself.

This isn't exactly true. His work  _is_ tiring and all the things he's had to deal with these past days probably have to do with his sickness, but he just wants to persuade Suoh to let him go to work since he doesn't want to get more delayed work.

-Don't be so stubborn. You'll look smart when you collapse in front of your subordinates.

-Fine. I'll stay for the morning so you'll stop complaining.

Munakata doesn't think that his condition would get as bad as Suoh says, but his concern is  _almost_ endearing and sick or not, Suoh's warmth and firm chest are always comfortable. Besides, taking a little break from work every once in a while isn't that bad, and it might be interesting to try Suoh's sleep-all-day lifestyle.


	7. Lust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Does this one seriously need a summary?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Fast update, you say? Truth is that I've finished typing this one before Sloth but then I got scared because it's my first smut and it's so embarrassing plus it might suck but I decided to post it today because Happy White Day, people!

LUST

 

When Munakata wakes up, he finds that he’s… aroused. This must have been caused by a dream but everything from said dream seems _steamy_ –in whatever figurative sense of the word, so Munakata can’t remember much of it. That’s a good thing, he thinks, because he really doesn’t want such images to worsen his little _problem_ , he doesn’t even have time to deal with it; he has to go to work now. He’s already late, in fact. Hopefully, a cold shower will fix it. It would also fix his current hangover; only now, he realizes that he’s most likely had too many drinks last night. That’s another thing he doesn’t remember. When he sits up to head to the bathroom, he finds that he is naked, and what’s worse, he feels a stinging pain in his backside. It seems that this is the morning of forgetfulness, then, because he really can’t remember anything from _that_ episode either. What more, he isn’t usually this careless; he rarely -if ever- brings his conquests home. He isn’t even sure who his partner this time might have been; he’s left no trace of his passage. Well, nothing but a lingering warmth on the other side of the bed. Munakata tries to convince himself that for once, it wasn’t a certain redhead, even if lately, it’s always been him – _why_ , Munakata doesn’t want to know, but he certainly and positively doesn’t want to engage in an exclusive relationship with that barbarian.

While he’s under the shower, there’s a piece of his dream that emerges from his mind. _He is sitting on someone’s lap, on a giant bed and the sheets are made of silk. The man’s skin is the color of bronze and calloused hands are holding Munakata’s hips steady. His face is buried in Munakata’s neck, and Munakata’s own face is buried in the man’s hair. It’s like having your face drowning in a blaze -and admittedly, his body_ is _burning. When Munakata inhales into his hair, the scent is inebriating: it smells like opium. Or maybe it’s the blend of cigarette’s characteristic intoxicating scent and strawberry’s sweet fragrance…_

His reverie is cut short by the beep of his phone from his bedroom; it’s a message, if referring to the ringtone.

_This won’t do,_ he thinks, shaking his head, still partly at his earlier hallucination. _At this rate, it won’t go away with just a shower… and neither will my headache._ He tries to focus on the paperwork he has to do today to avoid thinking about something else, and since his workload for the day is pretty charged, it works, somehow -or at least, partially, because his headache worsens at the thought of having to do all of these things.

His shower takes longer than usual but he eventually gets out of the bathroom to read the message from earlier. It’s from Suoh. It says: _“Come over at bar HOMRA later today.”_

Of course, having to deal with that man so soon in the morning annoys Munakata, and the message doesn’t even tell him whether it was Suoh with him last night or not. He answers, _“And why should I come to see you?”_

Suoh’s answer is immediate, _“Something I wanna tell you.”_

_I’m not interested in what you might have to tell me,_ is what Munakata wants to send at first, but he then considers the fact that Suoh doesn’t often text him. _It’s a wonder that such a primitive man can even use a phone,_ he thinks. So if Suoh bothers to send him a message, then maybe it’s about something important – _professionally_ , that is.

Even with the intention of coming, Munakata still wants to put some doubt in Suoh’s mind. _“I’m not sure I’ll be able to make it, but I’ll try to come in the afternoon.”_

Another immediate reply, _“Shall be waiting.”_

Now that that’s settled, he gets dressed for work, and for a reason he doesn’t want to admit to himself, he’s kind of looking forward to the end of the day.

* * *

 

When Munakata arrives at Scepter4’s building in his office, he is horrified by the stack of papers on his desk. Feeling that with the way things are -to be precise, with his headache and _trouble_ at focusing– he’ll never be able to get everything done by himself, he delegates a (big) part of it to Awashima and Fushimi, with the pretext that he has an impromptu meeting with a King later so he can’t leave the office too late –which, to his defense isn’t a lie, even if he doesn’t know what said meeting will be about.

During the whole day, his mind is occupied by visions of the same fashion than of the one he’s had under his shower this morning and he can’t concentrate in his work at all. He attributes the images to some form of delirium resulting of last night’s not-so-healthy activities.

 What frustrates him the most is that all the visions are about him and Suoh. In their totality, he never sees the face of his partner clearly, but Munakata isn’t delusional enough not to know that it _is_ his nemesis indeed; after all, he doesn’t know many people from his entourage with tanned skin, crimson mane and damn appealing body.

The images are a mix of their past flings – with their biting, scratching and pulling – and things that they’ve definitely never done.

At some time, he gets out of his office to get some coffee with the hope that it’ll clear his mind. When he comes back and opens his door though, he _sees_ himself bent over his own desk, that very surface on which he works every day of the week. He’s still and always with that same man. This time, he is beneath Munakata, handcuffed. Munakata is pounding into him and he could almost practically _hear_ the shameless moans of the rake under him if the scene weren’t only _in his head._ He closes the door and returns to get more coffee and maybe some strong painkillers.

There’s no further ‘incident’ when he comes back this time: the painkillers have dulled his head apparently. Knowing that in this state, he’ll be able to do even less things than he’s expected, he decides to call it a day; it’s past office hours already, anyway. He’s done nearly nothing productive today, but he’ll think about it tomorrow when he is in a better shape.

After changing to casual clothes, he heads directly to Bar HOMRA. On his way, there are questions assailing his mind. He wonders what Suoh wants to tell him; just _who_ was with him last night, and most importantly, _why_ he’s spent the whole day _unwillingly_ fantasizing about Suoh. Of course, he’ll never directly ask Suoh about the last two. _I’d rather die than give him the satisfaction of asking him these absurdities that would only stroke his ego,_ he thinks.

When he enters the bar, there are only a few people there. At first, they look alarmed to see the Blue King there, but when they see that Munakata’s not wearing his uniform and is merely heading toward the counter, their inquietude drop and they’re just eyeing him suspiciously. Munakata merely ignores them and asks Kusanagi who looks like he’s been expecting him, where his King is.

-He’s in his room, the barman answers with a knowing smile that Munakata isn’t sure how to interpret. “He’s waiting for you there.”

Regardless of the fact that to Munakata, it seems strange, if not fishy that a King calls another King to have a talk in his _bedroom_ –the Gold King’s never done it, or any other King Munakata’s met with before –Munakata’s more ticked that Kusanagi doesn’t add anything more, like he assumes that Munakata _must_ know where Suoh’s room is –which isn’t the case. So eventually Munakata has to ask, “And _where_ is your King’s room?”

Kusanagi blinks, inducing by doing so that he _did_ believe that Munakata’s been to Suoh’s room before, and with a tense smile, he answers, “Oh, what was I thinking; it’s upstairs, the last door on the corridor.”

Munakata thanks him and climbs the stairs. He knocks on the indicated door but gets no answer. He would have hesitated a little before directly opening the door if it were anyone else than _Suoh,_ but knowing the man, Munakata presumes that he must have fallen asleep.

When Munakata walks in, there’s no one in the bedroom. He wonders if maybe Suoh’s gone out, but then he hears a sound of running water from what must be the bathroom. Without thinking about it, he walks in the direction of the noise and there he stops abruptly. The door isn’t closed and he can see Suoh showering; in all the glory of his nudity. Suoh’s facing the wall and doesn’t see Munakata. The water runs across his hair and skin; Munakata can’t avert his eyes. He watches the muscles of Suoh’s back and, _are these scratch marks?_ Then he considers that maybe he really was with Suoh last night. The thought that the marks might have been made by someone else causes a vicious pain to his chest, but he doesn’t linger on the reflection as his eyes wander south. He stops at Suoh’s ass and he can’t help the twitch of his hands as he imagines grabbing his cheeks. The scrutiny continues on Suoh’s thighs then legs; the barbarian could pose as a model for one of these Greek statues, honestly.

Probably feeling that he’s being watched, Suoh turns his head to see who the visitor is and smirks when he finds that it’s Munakata. He turns off the water and grabs a towel. He then turns to face Munakata and with that smirk still plastered on his face, he uses the towel to wipe his head _first._ Munakata has to fight the insticnt to let his eyes go downward and keep them fixed on Suoh’s face. Suoh finally grabs another towel to tie it around his waist this time and walks toward Munakata.

-Oh, you were there.

-You _called_ me, Munakata retorts with remarkable composure given his situation.

-Thought you wouldn’t come.

-I said I’d try to, so here I am. What did you want to tell me?

-So this morning, I had an important early meeting with HOMRA and couldn’t stay.

_So it really was you,_ Munakata thinks with a mix of relief and irritation. “So I suppose you want to make a report of that meeting to me?” That’s skind of unlikely from Suoh, but Munakata can’t think of anything else for the reason of his presence here.

-Nah, I wasn’t even listening, Suoh says in a completely carefree tone.

Munakata’s irritation grows at the irresponsible answer. He crosses his arms and says impatiently, “So what’s the point of my being here?”

-Just wanted to see if you were okay.

-Pardon me?

-I wanted to be sure that you could stand on your feet.

That’s a little surprising from Suoh, he isn’t the type to care about things, after all. Or was he in _that_ bad a shape yesterday? That would explain his state of today, at least.

Still, the concern doesn’t excuse the time he’s wasted to come here, so he complains, “Couldn’t you have asked that by phone instead of making me come all the way here?”

-Wanted to see it for myself. You were pretty wasted last night.

Munakata really doesn’t recall being in such a bad condition, so he furrows his brows a little, like someone who doesn’t understand what his interlocutor means.

Suoh seems to notice, “Could it be that you don’t remember?”

Munakata doesn’t answer, so Suoh smirks and grabs him by an arm to pull him closer. He purrs against his ear, “Shall I refresh your memory?”

-I’ll pass, thanks. Actually, I’d rather have as few memories of you as possible.

-Heh, says the guy who was eyeing me up under the shower earlier.

-Preposterous! I wasn’t-

His protest is cut short by an involuntary moan as Suoh bites the shell of his ear.

-Suoh, I didn’t come for this, Munakata scowls.

-You _never_ come for this. But you always end doing it anyway when we meet.

Suoh pins him against the wall and starts licking and sucking at the same spot he’s bitten earlier at the same time as he tries to get Munakata out of his jacket.

Munakata ponders about the pros and cons of relenting this time. First of all, he hates giving in anything to Suoh, and more importantly, they’re at HOMRA’s headquarter. If someone comes in and see them like this, it won’t do any good to their reputation and credibility as Kings; and _that_ would be troublesome, to say the least. On the other hand, there’s the possibility that maybe he’ll stop having these fantasies if does do the _act_ with their very object. That’s one of the few things the barbarian’s really good at, anyway. Besides, Munakata can’t leave HOMRA in _this_ state. He hasn’t been exactly insensitive to Suoh’s ministrations, especially when Suoh grinds a thigh between Munakata’s legs as he nips his ear.

-You’re not resisting? Suoh asks, still smirking after successfully taking off the jacket.

-Don’t make me change my mind, Munakata warns, annoyed.

Suoh breathes a laugh but says nothing more. He leaves Munakata’s ear to nip at the side of his neck, one hand reaching down to Munakata’s belt buckle. Munakata lets him and lifts his arms to let them hang on Suoh’s shoulders. When Suoh’s undone his belt, Munakata kicks his shoes and pants. He then grips Suoh’s shoulders and pushes him away a little. There’s a questioning look on Suoh’s face, wondering if Munakata wants to stop but then Munakata removes his glasses and attacks Suoh’s mouth. He bites hard at his lower lip and then licks it, asking for entrance. Entrance is granted and their tongues find each other immediately and start dancing inside their joined mouths as Munakata drags Suoh to the bed. Suoh willingly follows and Munakata’s shirt and the towel around Suoh’s waist get lost along the way.

Munakata then unceremoniously throws Suoh onto the bed and climbs to get on top of him, legs on either side of his hips. He leans down to nip at Suoh’s neck and his hand reaches down to pump Suoh’s half-hard cock. He hears Suoh groan and smirks, trailing his tongue from the base of Suoh’s throat to his lips. He claims another heated kiss as his hand applies a lazy rhythm on Suoh’s cock.

Suoh apparently doesn’t intend to let Munakata have his way this time, because when the kiss breaks, he puts his hands on Munakata’s hips and inverses their positions. Suoh is now on top of Munakata and he starts kissing and licking from his chest downward. He stops when his tongue reaches the hem of Munakata’s boxers, and looks up at Munakata. Munakata is trying to look unaffected by the situation and maintains the eye contact with Suoh. A devilish grin then appears on Suoh’s face and he kisses the tip of Munakata’s clothed erection. Munakata’s so taken aback that he can’t repress the buck of his hips. Suoh’s grin widens and when Munakata’s about to say something, he can only moan when Suoh’s taking the head of his cock in his mouth with the fabric still on the way. He sucks on it until it gets damp enough that the skin can be seen through it.

Munakata finally braces himself enough to tell Suoh to get on with it, so Suoh lets go of his cock, gives the tip a final lick and pulls at Munakata’s boxers with his teeth. He then reaches for his bedside table to get the lube.

Suoh slicks his fingers and when he’s about to insert a finger in Munakata, the latter says, “I guess there’s no need for such preparation if you say that we’ve just done it yesterday.”

-So eager, Suoh says smirking.

Suoh slicks his cock and turns Munakata over on his stomach. Before Munakata can protest about the position, Suoh sinks into him in one thrust. Munakata buries his face in the pillows to stifle his moans and Suoh grabs his hips to lift them for better access. He then leans forward to kiss Munakata’s shoulder blades. His thrusts are painfully slow and with his hand, he caresses Munakata from his inner thigh up to his chest then downward. When his fingers reach Munakata’s side, he presses on a spot that he knows Munakata’s ticklish in. Munakata lets out a whimper and his knees do flinch but Suoh is holding him firmly.

Munakata lifts his face from the pillows and says, upset, “How many times will I have to tell you not to do this?”

Suoh laughs and gently kisses his neck, “Sorry, couldn’t stop myself.”

The apology lacks of sincerity but Munakata isn’t able to say anything about it because suddenly, Suoh’s thrusting harder and faster, each time hitting Munakata’s prostate. Munakata’s head falls back into the pillows and soon enough, he spills into the sheets. The clench of his muscles makes Suoh come too, but he doesn’t stop his thrusts, continuing to move inside Munakata to ride out both their orgasms. When Suoh stops moving, they both collapse on the bed. They stay there for awhile, catching their breaths and eventually, Munakata asks, “Can I use your shower?”

-Sure, Suoh answers, sounding exhausted.

* * *

 

Munakata doesn’t take long in the shower and when he gets out, Suoh remarks that he’s fully clothed.

-You’re not staying? He asks with a trace of hopefulness in his features but it is soon replaced with a suggestive smirk and he adds, “There’s still plenty of time until morning.”

Munakata shakes his head, “It’s already suspicious enough to your men that I’ve stayed this long, so if I spend the night…”

There’s no need to finish the sentence but Suoh still says, “I don’t care about what they could think.”

“I wish I could too,” Munakata says with a bitter smile and he leaves the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now excuse me I'm going to burry myself in a hole...
> 
> Seriously now, really thank you guys for reading this first work of mine. Personally, I had fun writing this series, hope you did enjoy it too!
> 
> This said, lots of love to the Mikorei fandom! <3


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